Football Academy Support

About The Placement

Working alongside a football academy organisation focused on leveraging sports to create opportunities and growth to local sports talent. Developing and enhancing the skills of children in the surrounding town and communities. The core operations of the academy factor the nurturing of football talent between the ages of 10 - 15.

Academy players are mostly clouted by observing football matches in the local towns between teams, friends and schools etc. The academy team aim to interview potential candidates for an understanding of their family circumstances and where possible aim to assist the families in need of extra support where they would usually not get the same level of opportunity to follow their ambitions. Most of the academy's daily routine are extra curricular sports activities, field training, fitness coaching, tactics along with general health and awareness.

Why This Placement?

The academy aspire to be the best amateur sports platform in West Africa with football as their main product. They require volunteers with requisite skills, passion and energy to continue training sessions and impact new innovations and knowledge for the whole team to grow.

We also seek to train the various player categories with accepted sports standards to position our players towards the global compeititve market to give them a great start in life. Volunteers serve as a crucial part of our operations not only to maintain the day to day work but also to assist with potential partnerships, fundraising, ideas and possible trustee recruitment for the NGO.

What Is Included In This Placement?

Support Staff - Accommodation - House Utility Bills - Pre Departure Support

We charge cost price for this project just so we can cover your stay and employ local support staff to increase loyal employment. This placement includes accommodation in a modern style house for the semi rural area of which we are based with great views and surroundings of the local towns and rainforest. All house utilities are included for your time, you will have use of the kitchen, electricity throughout the house and running water which is a luxury among the area of Kwahu. You will have a member of our local support team living in house or close by depending on the volunteer numbers so there is always someone on hand for any questions or support you may need.

How Do I Get To The Placement?

Budget an additional 10 - 40 Ghana cedis per day for transport costs.

We work with a number of schools within the local community and slightly further out. Volunteers will usually take taxis back and forth to their placement site. It is very easy to take shared taxis in town and they are very reasonably priced. Most of our schools will require volunteers to pay transport between 5 cedis and 40 cedis a day, with the average being about 10cedis. The more remote village schools are usually located down tracks and therefore cost a little bit more to reach. Our team will be able to assist volunteers group together for transport and where to find taxis etc. Volunteers are usually able to head off into the town after school easily to shop for food supplies, grab a cold drink or meet up with friends before heading home and the ease of taxis offer a really flexible experience for the volunteers.

What Will I Be Doing?

During your placement you will be working with the academy management team, coach and academy children. Academy activities start from 3:30pm onwards, once the children have finished for school with the resident academy coach, Coach Dodu. 

In addition to the set training and growth sessions there are also irregular activities such as weekend football matches, scouting, joint teams training and seasonal tournaments. Volunteers always play a key role in operations and will get to lead training, organise workshops, plan itineraries and implent new procedures.

Who Will I Be Working With?

You will be assigned to the academy staff team who you will work with on a daily basis at the placement sites. This includes Nana Kwabena the General Manager of the Academy Organisation, Coach Dodu who manages the affairs of the on field training along with Kwame who is responsible for Public Relations and Administration.

A member of our volunteer support team will also visit you at your placement site periodically after the initial introduction to ensure you are getting on well and making an impact on site.

What Do We Expect From The Volunteers?

Sports or coaching qualifications/experience is not compulsory for this placement, your level of experience and confidence will gauge what level of students would best suit and will be discussed between the team and yourself on your first day introduction. The greatest traits of a volunteer are enthusiasm, empathetic and the ability to adjust to alternative cultures. You will get the most of our your trip by opening your mind to new experiences and beliefs whilst also bringing your own to the table.
We expect volunteers to visit their placements Monday - Friday, exceptions can be made for long weekends of travel etc but we hope for the children and yourselves to get the most of your placement this is kept to a minimum.

What Can You Expect From Us?

We will be on hand any time of any day to support you in your placement and trip as a whole. There will always be someone you can speak to or get a hold of should you want to discuss anything or require any guidance, from organising after school clubs to changing your placement. Our team living in the volunteer house will also be able to offer advice regarding travel plans and the local area so you will soon feel at home.

What Should I Bring?

Regarding your placement we advise bringing any sports or coaching equipment you can as these items are not available in our local area and only cheap children's footballs and used football boots can be found at the markets. Once confirmed as a volunteer with us you can query this with us and we can request an update from the academy NGO team to check what item's they are currently in need of and would benefit from mostly.

If you're a fan of playing football you should definitely bring your jersey, kit and boots!

What Happens During School Holidays?

The core academy operations will not be affected by this, the afternoon training will still be active at the academy site and usually sessions would be increased due to the free time.

In regards to extra activities during the day time of school holidays, if a volunteers placement falls within these dates then we can arrange either a holiday school depending on the number of volunteers or we can run sports clubs and competitions for the local children at one of the fields in town.
The school holidays usually fall three times a year; few weeks around easter, few weeks around August and a few weeks during December.

• 07:30am - Volunteer transport leaves the volunteer house to project sites
• 08:00am - School starts (Academy volunteers can choose to assist with PE/Sports lessons during school hours)
  
• 10:30am - 11:00am - Morning Break
• 12:30pm - 01:00pm - Lunch Break
• 03:00pm - School closes
• 03:30pm - Football Academy Activities Begin - Training onfield and Workshops etc.
  
• 05:30pm - Once training has finished you are then free to go home and relax or hang out with the academy team who will most likely challenge you at Fifa!
  

In their free time, volunteers are free to go shopping in the local markets, return to the volunteer house or visit the local swimming pools.

Mid Week Free Time
After school and evenings offer these local opportunities around the local area:

• Hiking / Trekking
• Swimming
• Sightseeing (Waterfalls and breathtaking scenery)
• After school & Homework Clubs
• Sports facilities
• Live Music
• Plenty of Nightlife
• Restaurants & Hotels providing western cuisine
  

Weekend Free Time
Most volunteers will travel at weekends, across Ghana we have many amazing experiences which you can discover. Here are just a few ideas:

• Safari
• Museums
• Slave Castles
• Canopy Walk
• Waterfalls
• Malls and Cinemas (Showing latest films)
• Beautiful Beaches
• Surfing

We are on hand to offer any advice that you might need.